Garment construction



Jan. 5,1943. A. R. GOLDSTON 2,307,213

GARMENT CONSTRUCTIQN Filed April 11, 1 40 INVENTOR filer/1oz Z. 040 2 r w BY AM,

4M, ALIA;

ATTORNEY-9.

Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNITED s'm'rss PATENT :OF-FECE GARMENT CON STRUC'TION ArthurR. Goldston, Sandusky; Ohio Application April 11, 1940, SerialaNo. 329,133

8 Claims.

readymade garments may be lengthened in one.

or more successive steps as desired to adapt them to fit a number of difierent customers without the expense of alteration.

By way of exemplification I have shown my invention applied to a trouser leg, but it has other possible applications in the garment field.

At the present time the actual cost to the retailer handling ready made trousers is 15 to 35 for alterations to the cuff to adapt the garment to the requirements of difierent wearers for whom the garment is fitted in all respects except leglength. It is my object to eliminate such expense completely in practically all cases involving garments made in accordance with the present invention, my purpose being to provide a seam concealed within the cuff of the trouser leg which includes one or more pleats, preferably box pleats, the component parts of which may be opened singly or collectively without the use of special equipment and without requiring any reseaming to adapt the length of the trouser leg to the customer.

It is my further purpose to provide a construction in which the increase in length may be accomplished in predetermined increments so 1 that by mere comparison of the customers requirements with the initial length of the garment the salesman can instantly proceed to open the exact seam or seams which will give the desired ultimate increase.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a pair of trousers equipped with my invention, the right trouser leg cuff being turned down to expose the seam.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view partly in cross' section and partly in perspective, showing the cuff and seam.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the ..same cuff after the seam holding the pleat has been wholly let out to extend the leg to its full length.

Figs. 4 and 5 are viewssimilar to Fig. 2 showing differing embodiments of the invention.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The pair of trousers 6 shown in Fig. 1 is entirely conventional except for the embodiment of my invention within the cuif portions. In acimity to the fold H.

ser legs'l has an upturned cufi at 8 'formed in the usual manner by folding upwardly upon the leg the material thereof and then carrying the terminal portion of the fabric downwardly and within the leg and there stitched. In the conventional pair of trousers the downwardly carried and upwardly folded margin 9 of the fabric is held by the stitch H]. In this view the pleat incorporated for the purpose of the present invention has been entirely removed and hence this View exhibits the standard practice inwhich a full cuff is provided.

In accordance with the present invention the fabric constituting theleg portion 1 of the garment is provided with an annular pleat, box pleat, or double box pleat, within the. cuff 8, as best shown in Fig. 2. The material of the leg is folded. upwardly at H upon the leg to a fold l2, thence downwardly inside the cuif to a fold l3 atthebottom of the cuiT, and thence upwardly to another fold at M which is in immediate prox- This makes a box pleat [5 which extends annularly about the .leg of .the trouser within the cuff as shown in Fig. 1.

Each of the folds at H and I4 is now detachably caught by suitablestitching to the face of the box pleat It. The material may be folded and stitched by hand or, in the manufacture of trousers in quantity, an ordinary Lewis blind stitcher may be used, with a special folder. While any sewing machine will serve the purpose, the Lewis blind stitcher or equivalent, is useful .in that it produces a seam which unlocks and unravels instantly when the right thread is secured by removing threads l1, thus releasing the lower half of thebox pleat and leaving the garment leg inthe condition shown in Fig. 3.

Assuming that a greater-total variationis desired by increments of less than 1", it is possible to make the double box pleat shown in Fig. 4.

..-Here,.therbox-pleat at "I corresponds identicordance with standard practice each of the troucally to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 at 15 with the exception that a supplemental box pleat is provided at; l5l. Assuming that the opening of the seam at H5 or I! will, in either case, increase the length of the trousers leg by 1", it will be apparent that the opening of the seam at l8 or I 9 will in either case increase the length of the trousers leg by Thus the two box seams permit an increase in length of as much as 3" in /2" increments.

Fig. 5 shows the embodiment of Fig. 2, so far as the box pleat is concerned, but it shows the pleat applied to a blind or fake cuff in which the lower part of the cuff comprises only a single ply except for the seam II] at its extreme lower margin.

In all the several devices illustrated it will, of course, be understood that the thickness of the material has been greatly exaggerated in proportion to the vertical dimensions of the seams. In actual practice the cuff appears to lie substantially as fiat over the box pleat as it does after the box pleat is removed. Consequently the invention is not conspicuous and, as above noted, it requires only a few moments time for a salesman to loosen an appropriate seam or seams to open part or all of a pleat to increase the length of the trousers leg.

Not only is the invention advantageous in the initial sale of a ready made garment, but it may also be used to increase the length of trousers, dresses or coat sleeves as the wearer grows, being thus particularly adapted for the clothing of children.

I claim:

1. In a garment, the combination with a tubular section and a cuff or the like folded upwardly from the terminal part of said section, of an annular box pleat formed in said tubular section and disposed within said cufi, and a second pleat formed in the material of the first pleat, said second pleat being of lesser width than the first pleat and likewise annularly disposed within the cuff, and stitching of the releasable lock stitch type separately upholding in bonded relation the individual parts of the respective box pleats, said stitching being arranged for the individual release of the component parts of said pleats, whereby to extend the length of said section in predetermined increments.

2. In combination in a garment, a tubular limb-encasing section, the extremity of which is turned inwardly and provided with a seam connecting it to an intermediate portion of said section to comprise a two-ply cuff, both of said cuff plies being outwardly folded below'said seam to extend upwardly upon said section about said seam, a pleat comprising an integral intermediate portion of said section folded above said seam and extending downwardly below the seam within the outwardly folded two-ply portion of said cull, and fastening means connecting. to each other the portions of said section constituting said pleat, said fastening means being free of either of the plies of the outwardly folded portions of said cufi.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said fastening means connects portions of the pleat with at least one of the plies constituting said cuif within the outwardly folded portions thereof.

4. In a garment, a tubular limb-encasing section provided with upper and lower oppositely folded portions comprising an annular box pleat intermediate its ends, means providing connections for at least temporarily holding the component portions of said box pleat folded, and a terminal portion of said section commencing interiorly adjacent the lowest of the box pleat portions and extending thence downwardly beyond said last mentioned box pleat portion and upwardly of said section externally about said box pleat and thence back upon itself to comprise an annular two-ply cufi encircling the component pleats of said box pleat, thence extending reversely upwardly and inwardly of the lower box pleat portion and permanently connected to an inner surface of said section.

5. In a garment, a tubular limb-encasing section, an upwardly folded portion of said section constituting a first pleat, means holding said first pleat folded, a downwardly folded portion constituting a second pleat, means holding said second pleat folded, said first and second pleats being annular in form, another portion of said limb-encasing section originating adjacent and within said second pleat and extending downwardly to the lowest level of said second pleat, thence upwardly externally of said pleats to the highest level of said first pleat to comprise the inner ply of a cuff, thence extending downwardly along said inner cuff ply as the outer ply of a cuff, and thence extending upwardly within the last mentioned portion of said section and permanently secured thereto.

6. In a garment, a tubular limb-encasing section having upwardly and downwardly folded annular portions comprising a box pleat, means connecting to each other the upwardly folded portions of said sections, means independently connecting to each other the downwardly folded portions of said sections, whereby either of said portions may independently be released, and an extension of the downwardly folded portion of said section upwardly about the entire box pleat for at least the full length thereof and thence downwardly to comprise an annular cuff concealing said box pleat and independent of the aforesaid connections.

7. The device of claim 6 in which the outer ply of said cuff has its bottom margin turned back upon itself and stitched to said outer ply to provide a finished edge independently of other portions of said section.

8. In a garment, the combination with an innor tubular section having a box pleat including aligned inner folds and outer folds extending upwardly and downwardly from the respective inner folds, the lower end of said inner tubular section being folded upwardly outside of said box pleat to completely enclose said box pleat and thence reversely turned back upon itself and extended beneath said box pleat and inwardly of said inner tubular section and permanently secured to said section at a point no higher than the lowermost of the aligned inner folds of said inner section, and means individually and detachably connecting the component upper and lower folds of the box pleat across the aligned folds first mentioned to the inner tubular section for separate release for the lengthening of said tubular section.

ARTHUR H. GQLDSTON. 

